John Cooper Works Clubman: The maximum Mini

If you're not yet familiar with the Clubman, it is an elongated Mini Cooper, roughly the same width and height but 13 feet long, so it has more room in the back seat.

The Clubman gets a pair of extra doors, with one reverse-opening behind the passenger's door and the other on the back. The Cooper's hatch yields to barn doors on the Clubman.

To get the name of this car across the windshield you'd better use a narrow font; with less than 5 feet of glass to work with MINI (Cooper S) John Cooper Works Clubman is a lot of wallpaper. By length or price this is the maximum Mini, and by performance second only to Works versions of the smaller, lighter hardtop. It's even more practical than a regular Mini.

If you're not yet familiar the Clubman is an elongated Mini Cooper, roughly the same width and height but 13 feet long, so it has more room in the back seat and trunk. It also gets a pair of extra doors, with one reverse-opening behind the passenger's door and the other on the back; the Cooper's hatch yields to barn doors on the Clubman, cleverly integrated by surface colors and framed tail lights that remain in place with the doors open level with the sides of the car.

An extra side door does wonders for getting into or loading the rear seat and once in, the nicely contoured seats and large expanse of glass, especially on the driver's side, improve the journey. Each seat folds to extend the cargo area, which will hold one 27-inch roller behind and even has tie-down points for the hidden area under the floor.

Adding some doors and wheelbase didn't stop the John Cooper team from giving the Mini Clubman a boost. As with the hardtop the Cooper Club benefits from improvements to suspension, rolling stock, brakes and engine, any cosmetic details notwithstanding.

The turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder is amped up to 208 horsepower and 192 lb-ft of torque, the latter available before 2,000 rpm and accompanied by an exhaust note more threatening than any other 1.6. A beefed-up Getrag six-speed manual with electronic differential lock and all manner of electronic systems gets the power to the ground, but it's a struggle with torque steer as a Club Cooper — on overboost torque or not — can spin front tires at 75 mph in a bend.

Mini claims 0-60 in the six-second range but everyone who's tried has done it in the mid-high fives. A firm grip on the wheel is needed for full throttle in first gear and in many instances you'll go 95 percent as fast on 50 percent of the effort by up-shifting one gear.

The electric power steering is among the best in the business for precision and quickness; those not used to a Mini will be caught off guard by how the razor-sharp reaction when you turn the wheel.

Although the Works Clubman has gained 176 pounds on the hardtop it's no less fun to drive. It is crisp and sticky yet compliant enough for daily use on so-so roads; a sport suspension system is available but only enthusiasts with good infrastructure will find the payoff worth the compromise.

Ultimate grip may be incrementally behind a hardtop given the same tires, but the Clubman's 3 inches longer wheelbase makes it just a tick more stable and the extra weight out back means a less nose-heavy, more balanced car.

For most drivers they haven't had this much fun in a car, at least while they were driving it.

Apart from trim choices — and there are many — the Works cabin is the same as a Clubman S. Thin near-vertical pillars allow excellent visibility in all directions, aided by a wiper on each rear door for inclement weather. The central speedometer seems to have everything except RPM so it takes a bit to become familiar; the primary knob is a controller and not the volume ¿ that is lower in the center stack.

All the controls and switchgear are easy to reach; at this size the opposite door handle is easy to reach. The toggle switches occasionally confuse as lifting the lock switch unlocks the doors and lifting it again — instead of pushing it down — locks them; think of them as momentary switches and you're better off.

The Mini Clubman Works starts around $31,000 and you can add on from a menu a Chinese restaurant would be proud of. Ten paint colors work with three roof and two rear trim, even before you get into stripes, wallpaper or a heliport roof graphic. Many components can be upgraded or added as factory options, and if you get really carried away with the options and John Cooper Works accessories your Clubman will be approaching $50,000.

Show some restraint and you'll be quite happy for a lot less.

(Whale, a longtime Ventura County resident, has been breaking parts for 30 years and writing about it for 22.)